Loading

German WWI clothing flail

c 1914

Australian National Maritime Museum

Australian National Maritime Museum
Sydney, Australia

German military in WWI were issued with a clothing flail that was to beat the dust from clothes. German military handbooks show diagrams of 2 soldiers holding clothing and beating it - much like beating a rug. This example is similar to a known surviving historical one.

The flail has the name 'R. Frueckthickt' and initials 'K.M.' carved in handle. It is part of a collection of material relating to the German WWI raider SMS EMDEN and some 70 crew members who were taken prisoner and interned at the German Concentration Camp, at Holsworthy near Liverpool, NSW, during the war.

Richard Frueckthickt was prisoner number 22 at Liverpool.

Show lessRead more
  • Title: German WWI clothing flail
  • Date: c 1914
  • Location: Holsworthy
  • Type: Whip
  • Significance: The material is highly significant for the history of Australia's first and arguably most important naval victory, as well as the largely unknown story of German prisoners and internees in Australia during the war. Souvenirs and other decorative items manufactured by Germans during 1914 to 1918 in the Liverpool prisoner of war camp south west of Sydney are rare and show a side of the conflict that has had little public exposure.
  • See institution's online collections: http://www.anmm.gov.au/collections
  • Medium: Timber, leather, rope, metal
  • Dimensions: 830 × 60 × 25 mm, 118 g
  • Credit line: ANMM Collection
Australian National Maritime Museum

Get the app

Explore museums and play with Art Transfer, Pocket Galleries, Art Selfie, and more

Home
Discover
Play
Nearby
Favorites